What a day at the Foro Italico! The 1st match had more twists than a cork-screw! Ferrer didn’t show up for the 1st 6 games which no one expected. But what i did expect eventually started to unfold….unfortunately for the Galactico (person who supports Real Madrid which Verdasco does) he started to run outta gas at the most inopportune time and when that happens, David Ferrer is one of the worst players to face…especially on clay, cos he can make you run more than most! Winning 8 straight games from being down 1-5, he wrestled the match away from Nando with that stretch, to eventually prevail and make it through to his 1st Masters 1000 final!
As for the Rafa/Gulbis match you can only salute Ernests for what was a supreme effort! I gave him no shot and thought Nadal would not loose a set this season on clay. Not only did he loose a set, but Rafa almost lost the match….I think with his performance, the Latvian has given the rest of the locker room belief that Nadal is beatable on this surface.
But getting the win is what Rafa does best…he’s 26-2 in Clay court finals, his only 2 losses coming to Federer (and he was severely jaded in both those encounters in Hamburg and Madrid) those are outrageous numbers!! I just can’t see Ferrer defying the odds tomorrow given his record against his fellow countryman. Nadal will tie Agassi with 17 Masters 1000 titles with a 5th victory in the Eternal City!
RK